Andrea LeadsomThe Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate ChangeThe Government will be guided by the fuel poverty strategy published in March 2015 which sets out a clear policy of working towards improving energy efficiency standards across the English housing stock, including in the homesof the fuel poor. The strategy highlighted a concern relating to issues faced by park home residents in keeping their homes warm. Therefore, the Government is undertaking further research and working with stakeholders to understand the drivers of fuel poverty in park homes.DECC has also been ensuring park homes residents are able to benefit from our existing schemes targeted at the fuel poor such as the Energy Company Obligation ( ECO) and Warm Home Discount ( WHD).

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''Park Homes and the Warm Home Discount In reply to Annette Brooke MP's question, the following has been received from the

Minister Amber Rudd MP

Department of Energy and Climate Change

I can confirm that, as a minimum, park homes who receive pension credit guarantee credit will be eligible to receive the WHD and that this is set to benefit the higher than average proportion of park home residents who are pensioners.

More widely, the broader cohort of park homes that will be eligible to apply for WHD has not yet been specified by suppliers as we’re told that the scheme is still under development. However, suppliers could choose wider criteria as long as the scheme is approved by Ofgem as targeting people in or at risk of being in fuel poverty (recipients would have to be in receipt of some means-tested benefit).

The note below shows further details on this and additional policy work that the Department has been carrying out to try to further help park homes.

Note on DECC policies for Park Homes

The department has recently taken a number of actions across multiple schemes to ensure park home owners are able to benefit from DECC schemes in the same way as other homeowners. The following sets out some of the key changes we have made and highlights some of the on-going work to improve the situation further.

Main actions taken under the Warm Home Discount:

·Under the Warm Home Discount (WHD) DECC has made it possible for mobile home (including park home) residents to get assistance under the scheme in 2015/16.

·It is anticipated that suppliers will fund a third party to provide cheques or cash vouchers worth £140 to low income and vulnerable mobile home residents who apply for the scheme.

As a minimum, park home residents who receive pension credit guarantee credit will be eligible to receive WHD. A higher than average proportion of park home residents are pensioners, so could be eligible under this framework.

The wider cohort of park home residents eligible to apply for WHD has not been specified by suppliers as the scheme is still under development. However, suppliers could choose wider criteria as long as the scheme is approved by Ofgem as targeting people in or at risk of being in fuel poverty (recipients would have to be in receipt of some means-tested benefit).

Other main actions taken:

·DECC is currently working with Ofgem, suppliers, Energy UK and CLG to develop the most appropriate approach and will take the learning gained from WHD and apply it to the delivery of the second year of the Government Electricity Rebate.

·DECC completed a call for evidence last year to examine the nature of park homes and their energy requirements, the costs and benefits of improvements, the ways residents pay for their energy and engage in the energy market and the income levels of residents.

·The call for evidence provided information that will aid Government in ensuring that the fuel poor living in park homes can benefit from fuel poverty schemes in future. To further support this, Government is undertaking additional research in the specific drivers of fuel poverty for park home owners. The findings will inform future DECC, DEFRA and CLG policies.

·DECC Ministers have also written to the Office of Fair Trading (OfT) in the past to urge them to determine the scale of the issue to inform and work to address it.

·An amendment to the RdSAP energy efficiency methodology for park homes hjas meant that they are now able to get an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), a key eligibility requirement.

Further background information

DECC call for evidence on Park Home issues

·DECC completed a call for evidence last year to examine the nature of park homes and their energy requirements, the costs and benefits of improvements, the ways residents pay for their energy and engage in the energy market and the income levels of residents. This was so that we could better judge how likely it is that they are fuel poor.

·The responses informed us that the majority of park home residents are over 55, live in homes that are less energy efficient than other types of homes. Homes built after 2005 are required to achieve a minimum requirement for thermal insulation, homes built before are likely to fall short. Some energy efficiency measures are relatively easy to install e.g. replacement boilers, while others may present challenges due to the structural differences and varied build qualities of park homes.

·There was no evidence to support that health circumstances or benefit entitlement in park home residents differ from a comparable sample of population, and no evidence to support that residents are more likely to be in fuel poverty than people of the same demographic living in other types of dwellings. The nature of park homes suggests that residents are vulnerable to adverse weather.

·The call for evidence provided useful information that will aid Government in ensuring that the fuel poor living in park homes can benefit from fuel poverty schemes in future. To further support this, Government will undertake additional research on the specific drivers of fuel poverty for park home owners. These findings will inform future DEFRA, DECC and CLG polices.

Warm Home Discount and Government Electricity Rebate

·Under the Warm Home Discount (WHD) we have made it possible for mobile home (including park home) residents to get assistance under the scheme in 2015/16.

·The likely outcome is the suppliers will fund a third party to provide cheques or cash vouchers worth £140 to low income and vulnerable mobile home residents who apply for the scheme.

·We are currently working with Ofgem, suppliers, Energy UK and CLG to develop the most appropriate approach.

·We will also take the learning gained from WHD and apply it to the delivery of the second year of the Government Electricity Rebate to ensure park home owners receive the rebate.

Green Deal and ECO

·DECC has made progress in rectifying some of the barriers faced by residents in accessing ECO and the Green Deal. In particular, an amendment to the RdSAP methodology for park homes has meant that they are now able to get an EPC, a key eligibility requirement.

·Although for Green Deal, park home residents may face particular obstacles in accessing scheme due to the shared meter arrangements common in this type of dwelling.

·For ECO there is little scope for cost-effective measures due to technical issues that make installing insulation difficult, e.g. the nature of the home’s construction means that solid wall insulation may not be possible. As a result, only 203 park homes have received insulation under ECO.

RHI & FITs

·Park homes have traditionally not been able to access these schemes because they were not able to obtain an EPC (which is a minimum requirement on eligibility).

·However, as above, changes to RdSAP have meant they are now eligible.

·Despite this, the off-grid nature of park homes means that park homes are eligible for only the generation tariff and not the export tariff and therefore applications for FITs are low as the technologies do not offer an attractive return on investment.

·For RHI, other barriers, such as high costs and relatively low energy use mean the scheme is likely to be less attractive to residents of park homes.

Tariffs

·Some park home residents are able to buy energy directly from suppliers and these households experience competition, and are able to shop around for the best deals, in the same way as other consumers. However, many park home residents are tied into a supply agreement with the park site owner and this restricts their access to the competitive energy tariffs.

·However, where park home site owners resell and invoice customers for electricity and mains gas, they are obliged to charge according to ‘Maximum Resale Price’ (MRP) rule. MRP provisions drafted by Ofgem put limits on the price at which mains gas and electricity may be resold by mobile park owners, protecting tenants from overcharging.

·MRP does not apply to the resale of LPG, however, and although the Mobile Homes Act 2013 improved residents’ rights; it does not deal with energy related issues on such sites. There is strong evidence that park home residents use LPG more than other fuels for heating, and anecdotal evidence that they are paying more for it.

·The OFT said in its study into the Off-Grid Energy Market in 2011 they may consider looking at this issue for possible inclusion in their future work programme if there was significant evidence of abuse of LPG prices.

·In November 2013, Ministers & All Party Parliamentary Group on the Off-Gas Grid met to discuss fuel supply to Park Homes. The Ministers wrote to OFT to urge them to determine the scale of the issue to inform and work to address it.

·The CMA had informally advised that the OFT had received three complaints and the Citizens Advice had received two. It has been concluded that there was not currently enough evidence of widespread abuse for specific stand-alone action to be taken by DCLG (under its responsibility towards residents of park homes).

Annette Brooke OBE MP today asked the following question of the Secretary of State regarding help for park home residents.

You will see from the Secretary of State's reply that it is now very important that we get as many residents and their friends and family to sign the petition below (or the online petition) to put pressure on the Government to bring about this dedicated funding for park homes.

Annette Brooke (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD): Given that this is a particularly cold week, may I remind the Secretary of State of the people who live in park homes? Will he support the call by the park home owners justice campaign for a dedicated, fully funded insulation programme? Is it not time for action, rather than mere consultation?

Mr Davey:

My hon. Friend has been a doughty champion of park home owners. As she knows, we have been the first Government to engage with some of the challenging issues that they face. She will know, for example, that our reform of the warm home discount will make many park home owners eligible for it for the first time. That is action. As for the insulation programme that she mentioned, if she can wait until we publish our fuel poverty strategy, she will see that we are continuing to think about what can be done for park home owners.